More than 10 high ranking officials and military officers were held hostage for about 6 hours on Thursday by monks at a monastery in Pakokku township in Upper Burma. The captors demanded the release of about 10 fellow monks arrested in a peaceful demonstration that was violently broken up by the authorities on Wednesday.(more…)

The United Wa State Army ethnic ceasefire group has deployed more troops and armaments to its main area near the Thai-Burmese border, defying an earlier relocation order issued by the government, according to sources close to the group. (more…)

Villagers living on the Indo-Burma border areas in northwestern Burma, have been recently made to involve themselves in growing poppy in their respective areas by Burmese authorities, said a source in Chin state, Burma.(more…)

Dhaka: The Vice-Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council, General Maung Aye has postponed his scheduled visit to Bangladesh slated for September 10 to 12, said a senior Bangladesh official. (more…)

More than 1 million people in South Asia’s Bay of Bengal could be swept to their deaths by a tsunami if a giant earthquake were to hit off the coast of Myanmar, according to a study published Thursday.(more…)

The recent crackdown by Myanmar’s Government after peaceful protests over fuel prices is a setback for the country and has the effect of calling into question the Government’s commitment to democratization, the United Nations envoy to the country said today as he detailed plans to visit Myanmar again as early as next month.(more…)

Victims of the ruthless crackdown by the military junta, for protesting peacefully, Burma’s prominent 88 generation students today urged the United Nations’ Chief to intervene and take up the matter at the UN Security Council. (more…)

When the military government in Myanmar began crushing street demonstrations last month, the State Department protested. President Bush later issued a statement condemning the arrests of protesters. The administration’s most forceful response, though, came from Laura Bush. (more…)